Judge Schedules Trial Date for Co-Defendant Accused in 2021 W. Fayette Street Homicide Case

By Isaiah Jenkins [former] - June 8, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn scheduled the trial of a Baltimore resident charged with first-degree murder after he neither accepted nor rejected a plea offered by the prosecution on June 7.

Steven Arthur and his defense counsel Brandon Thornton have not made a decision on the offer of a plea of life, suspending all but 30 years with five years of supervised probation for first-degree murder; a concurrent sentence of 25 years for the conspiracy to commit robbery; and another concurrent 20 years for the use of a firearm in a felony-violent crime without the possibility of parole for the first five years. 

The prosecutor made it known that the plea offer is expected to expire on June 16.

According to the statement of charges, officers believe that Arthur, 33, and Jerome Johnson aided in the murder of 33-year-old Jameo McClean, the attempted murder and robbery of an unknown victim, and the robbery of three other victims.

Judge Phinn scheduled Arthur’s trial for Oct. 30 and it is expected to last five days. 

In connection to the murder of McClean on the 1900 block of W. Fayette Street on May 31, 2021, Arthur is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of armed robbery, three counts of attempted armed robbery, five counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, the possession of a firearm with a felony conviction, attempt to kill/murder, two counts of first-degree assault, four counts of the use of a firearm in a felony-violent crime, three counts of armed robbery, and five counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Johnson, 32, is charged with first-degree murder, three counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, three counts of armed robbery, two counts of attempted armed robbery, four counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, five counts of the use of a firearm in a felony-violent crime, the possession of a firearm with a felony conviction, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and attempted armed robbery.

In a previous hearing on Feb. 22, Johnson and his defense counsel Andre Mahasa, rejected a plea of life for first-degree murder, a consecutive life sentence for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and a consecutive twenty years for the use of a firearm during a felony violent crime. 

Johnson’s next hearing was scheduled for July 3.